WORK WITH ME

The most important aspects of working with me are:

  • Your level of commitment to yourself

  • Your ability to be honest with yourself and take responsibility for your health

  • Your commitment to do the work

  • A relationship with me based on respect, trust, honesty and a mutual feeling that we are on the same wavelength

INITIAL FREE MEET AND GREET APPOINTMENT

I provide an initial free 15 minute free “Meet and Greet” appointment which all patients need to avail of to ensure I am the right doctor for you. An in person face:face appointment is preferred.

Please read the website carefully before this appointment and prepare any additional questions you may have.

Should we decide to work together, you will be emailed important and in-depth online questionnaires (HAQ’s) to complete at home to collect information to guide how best to help you. You will also be given two appointments:

  1. A “HAQ Paperwork Review Appointment” for time for me to review your questionnaires. Patients are not present at this appointment and a fee of $150 is charged for my time to review all the information you provide.

    Please note, it is your responsibility to ensure the completed questionnaires are returned electronically four days before the “HAQ Paperwork Review Appointment”. If your HAQs are not returned on time, a '“HAQ Paperwork Review Appointment No Show Fee” ($150) is automatically charged and your HAQ Paperwork Review Appointment and Initial Appointment will be given to the next person on the waiting list.

  2. An “Initial Appointment” for the duration of one hour will be given to you. This appointment is preferably carried out in person too.

INITIAL APPOINTMENT

The first appointment is generally one hour long. I will have had the opportunity to look at your questionnaires before this at your “HAQ Paperwork Review Appointment” and put together a road map outlining the best way to move forward. We will have time to clarify information you have given me, discuss my guidance suggestions on the options most likely to help you, and then jointly decide how to put this into action and organise any further testing or investigations needed.

SUBSEQUENT APPOINTMENTS

Subsequent appointments are determined on an individual basis together with you. Appointments are usually 30, 45 or 60 minutes long. If we are going over complex functional tests, you will need to allow approximately 30 minutes per test for discussion.

There are 15 minute appointments slots available - however you can only book these if you have been requested to do so by me in certain circumstances. They often do not allow enough time to cover the various aspects of an integrative medical approach.

As a guide, I find it beneficial to see new patients monthly, increasing this to every three months or longer as your health and quality of life improves. Other patients do better with more frequent appointments to check in and have more support during their healing journey.

Depending on what a patient comes to see me with and how committed they are to doing the work needed to improve their health and wellbeing, patients tend to work with me on average for 6-9 months. After this time, patients typically have achieved their treatment goals, enjoy significantly better health and wellbeing and are empowered and equipped to maintain this.

Each persons health journey will look different.

GP CARE

My way of working lends itself best to chronic and or more complex cases where patients have their own GP and see me on a private casual basis in addition to their GP.

All patients are required to have their own GP. Having your own local GP to support you for your general care (smears, usual prescriptions etc.) is essential.

There are online GP services available that you may wish to use for your GP care. Registration is not necessary and you can make same day appointments, request prescriptions and avail of opening hours from 7am to 9pm seven days a week.

Examples include:

Bettr: https://www.bettr.co.nz/

Tend: https://tend.nz/

ACUTE ISSUES AND EMERGENCY CARE

For acute issues, please contact your GP or visit an out of hours or overflow service such as Team Medical in Paraparaumu or an online GP service such as Bettr or Tend.

For emergencies, please dial 111.

If you suspect any acute symptoms may be due to a treatment protocol I have given you, please let me know of this as soon as possible, however seek the help of your GP or appropriate emergency service first.

ZOOM CONSULTS

Follow up appointments lend themselves well to Zoom, an online virtual programme where we can see each other face-to-face live and where I can share my screen to review lab and test results. The first in-depth appointment however, is usually done face-to-face in the practice to facilitate physical examination. Intermittently, an appointment in person may be needed to ensure I am practicing good medicine and offering you high quality of care.

Zoom is preferable, especially if you have symptoms of a respiratory tract infection or are awaiting a COVID test result. Please request my administrative staff for a Zoom consult if this is preferable. The nature of my mobile clinic and the ability to use Zoom means that I can provide ongoing treatment and support during the uncertain times we live in. Changes to in-person appointments due to COVID will be made per email. Please ensure you save lovelife@drjoannabauer-savage.net in your contacts to ensure you receive these.

All appointments are assumed to be in-person unless restricted due to COVID. It is your responsibility to request a Zoom consult if preferable for you. Please email us if you would like to change to a Zoom consult.

LOCATION

I work from a mobile practice in a campervan based at my home in Paekakariki. I have a virtual personal assistant and practice administrator who will be your main contact point for any appointments, invoices, questions or concerns you may have.

PRESCRIPTIONS

Refill prescriptions are available for medications I have started you on. Requests online for repeat scripts are available for a fee of $25 if requested outside an appointment.

Prescriptions will be done on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Any urgent prescriptions will attract an additional $10 fee if needed outside of these days or during periods when the practice is closed. Emails will be sent to patients regarding practice closure.

SUPPLEMENTS

I choose to offer supplements to my patients at wholesale prices where possible. I offer this to ensure there is no conflict of interest in any supplements recommended by me as part of your treatment plan and because I wish healthcare and wellbeing to be as affordable and accessible as possible.

Some companies such as Pacific Health require administration time as patients cannot self-order. These incur a 10% charge on top of the wholesale price for my administration time to order on your behalf.

For patients who wish to avail of wholesale prices - patients need to take care of ALL orders and communication with the suppliers themselves and pay for GST and postage.

Communication with Merel and I regarding self orders should be avoided or minimal to ensure this remains a viable ongoing option due to the significant potential administration time associated with this.

This service is only available to patients I am currently seeing or have seen recently. The supplement companies I work with offer quality assured products that are often practitioner only products. Several of these supplements can cause harm if taken inappropriately. You may only order supplements that I have recommended to you. All supplement companies notify me per email of every patient order (name, supplements and quantities) as a means of monitoring their purchase and use.

Avoid stocking up on supplements during your work with me. I often change them after one bottle as we move through different treatment protocols as indicated. It is not my intention that you will be taking supplements indefinitely as I believe you should be able to get what you need from your diet and other lifestyle choices.

Any abuse of this privilege will result in this option no longer being available to you and potentially all patients in the future.

I am able to order supplements for you if you do not wish to self order - however these will incur a 30% mark up fee on the wholesale price plus postage. This option is also necessary if you have not seen me for some time and I need to check in with you regarding ongoing use of certain supplements. A follow up appointment may be necessary.

SCANS - ULTRASOUNDS, XRAYS ETC

I use Pacific Radiology for any necessary scans - these are all privately funded by you. Alternatively I may request your GP through you or through a GP letter to organise a funded test.

For tests organised with Pacific Radiology, you will receive a paper referral form and the practice will email a copy of this to Pacific Radiology. To get your test done faster, please call your preferred centre (location options available on the back of the referral form or online) to request an appointment. Results will be emailed back to me as your referring doctor.

Approximate prices are:

Upper abdominal ultrasound $270

Abdominal and pelvis ultrasound $ 320

Pelvic ultrasound (including intra-vaginal if indicated) $275

X-rays $140-160

LABS

I am able to order publicly funded blood tests. To do this however you will need a NHI number. If you do not have an NHI number you will need to pay for these privately. Please be sure to provide us with your NHI number before your Initial Appointment.

Please note that due to funding cuts, many blood tests are harder to order and patients may need to pay for these. Examples include plasma zinc levels, B12 and Vitamin D.

FUNCTIONAL TESTS

As an Integartive medical Doctor I may sometimes recommend a functional test to get more detailed information to help diagnosis and treatment. These are complex tests, often sent abroad and are fully funded by you. Examples include FITGENES, Mircobiome mapping, the DUTCH test and OATS test. Wholesale prices plus GST and postage are charged with an additional fee for my time to review some of these tests before your appointment. Please see the “Fee Schedule” section for more information.

MAILING LIST

An updated mailing list is used to send out emails regarding practice closure, important information, ordering deadlines for supplements and functional tests, information on discontinued supplements and suitable alternatives, COVID related updates and other useful information or exciting news. I promise I will not spam you. Your details will remain confidential and not shared with any third parties.

Please ensure you are on my mailing list and ensure that lovelife@drjoannabauer-savage.net is saved as a trusted recipient to ensure your receive them. You can unsubscribe at any time. Enter your details in the “CONNECT HERE” section below if you would like to receive these.